JP2006227316A - Photographing device and auxiliary light unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing device that irradiates a subject with AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light at an appropriate irradiation angle, and to provide an auxiliary light unit. <P>SOLUTION: The light emitted from an LED 23 is transmitted through a lens 22 and used as an AF auxiliary light. A drive section 26 having a drive motor 25, which is driven based upon the distance of a subject measured by a range sensor, is disposed near the LED 23. Upon the drive of the drive motor 25, the LED 23 is moved. Consequently, a distance between the LED 23 and the lens 23 is varied and the angle of an irradiation with the AF auxiliary light is altered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides an autofocus (AF) auxiliary light source that irradiates an autofocus detection area when the subject brightness during autofocus shooting is low, and a redeye reduction light source that has a redeye reduction function that reduces redeye phenomenon during flash shooting. The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus and an auxiliary light unit provided.

  In an imaging device having an autofocus function, for example, in order to enable an autofocus function in a dark place, an LED or a lamp as a light source for AF auxiliary light is emitted during an autofocus operation, thereby setting an autofocus detection area. What is comprised so that it may irradiate is known conventionally. In addition, a photographic device capable of flash photography uses a structure in which the subject's pupil is contracted by irradiating a lamp with a red-eye reduction lamp (hereinafter referred to as a red-eye reduction lamp) immediately before the flash light is emitted. It has been known. The AF auxiliary light irradiates only the detection area at the time of autofocus, whereas the red-eye reduction light emitted from the red-eye reduction lamp needs to irradiate all areas in the photographing screen.

  Some photographic devices allow the light emitted from one light source to have two irradiation angles by popping down and popping up the strobe light emitting unit, and use them separately for AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light. (See Patent Document 1).

  When light emitted from the light source is used as AF auxiliary light, light with a narrow irradiation angle that irradiates only the autofocus detection area is irradiated toward the subject in a state where the strobe light emitting unit is popped down. When the light emitted from the light source is used as red-eye reduction light, light with a wide illumination angle that illuminates all areas in the shooting screen is directed toward the subject with the strobe light emitting part popping up just before the strobe light is emitted. Is irradiated.

JP-A-9-005843

  However, in the above-described photographing apparatus, since the irradiation angle of the AF auxiliary light and the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light are fixed, the AF auxiliary light does not reach the subject depending on the distance to the subject. Autofocus may not be focused accurately, or red-eye reduction light may not be emitted to the entire shooting screen.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an imaging device and an auxiliary light unit that can irradiate AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light at an appropriate irradiation angle.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an auxiliary light unit according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source during autofocusing and / or immediately before strobe emission. Distance measuring means for measuring the distance of the light, and by changing the distance between the lens and the light source of the auxiliary light unit based on the distance measurement information from the distance measuring means, An irradiation angle changing means for changing the irradiation angle is provided.

  Further, in an imaging apparatus including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and immediately before strobe emission, a distance measuring unit that measures a distance to the subject, and a distance measuring unit An irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source based on the distance measurement information, and immediately before the strobe light emission In some cases, control means for controlling the irradiation angle changing means is provided so that the light irradiation angle becomes wider than that during autofocus.

  Further, in a photographing apparatus comprising a zoom lens for photographing, a focus lens for photographing, and an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocus or / and immediately before strobe emission, Zoom position detection means for acquiring zoom lens zoom information, focus position detection means for acquiring focus lens focus information, and auxiliary light based on zoom lens zoom information and focus lens focus information There is provided an irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing an interval between the lens of the unit and the light source.

In addition, in the photographing apparatus including the photographing zoom lens, the photographing focus lens, and the auxiliary light unit that emits light emitted from the light source to the subject through the lens at the time of autofocusing and immediately before the flash emission, the zooming device is provided. Zoom position detection means for acquiring lens magnification information; focus position detection means for acquiring focus information of the focus lens;
Irradiation that changes the irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing the distance between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source based on zooming information of the zoom lens and focusing information of the focus lens An angle changing means and a control means for controlling the irradiation angle changing means so that the light irradiation angle becomes wider than that at the time of autofocusing immediately before the strobe light emission are provided.

  Further, in an imaging apparatus including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before strobe light emission, by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source There is provided an irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject, and an operation means manually operated to operate the irradiation angle changing means.

  Further, in an imaging apparatus including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before strobe light emission, by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source An irradiation angle changing means for changing the irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject, an operating means manually operated to operate the irradiation angle changing means, and an autofocus immediately before the flash emission Control means for controlling the irradiation angle changing means is provided so that the light irradiation angle becomes wider than the time.

  The auxiliary light unit according to the present invention is an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source through auto-focusing or / and immediately before strobe light emission. The auxiliary light unit is directed toward the subject by changing the distance between the lens and the light source. The irradiation angle changing means for changing the irradiation angle of the light irradiated in this manner is provided.

  The irradiation angle changing means moves either the lens or the light source in the lens optical axis direction.

  According to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, the irradiation angle changing unit moves the light source or the lens and changes the distance between the lens and the light source based on the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring unit, thereby emitting light from the light source. Can be irradiated at an irradiation angle suitable for AF auxiliary light.

  In addition, the illumination angle changing means moves the light source or the lens based on the distance to the subject measured by the distance measuring means to change the distance between the lens and the light source, so that the light emitted from the light source is The irradiation angle changing means can irradiate at an irradiation angle suitable for AF auxiliary light, and further, the light emitted from the light source immediately before the strobe emission is wider than the light emitted from the light source during autofocus. Is controlled by the control means, the light emission from the light source immediately before the strobe light emission can irradiate a wider range than the light emitted from the light source during autofocus.

  Also, after the AF is completed, the illumination angle changing means moves the light source or the lens to change the distance between the lens and the light source based on the zoom lens magnification information and the focus focusing information acquired from the zoom position detecting means and the focus position detecting means. By doing so, the light emitted from the light source can be irradiated at an irradiation angle suitable for red-eye reduction light.

  Also, after the AF is completed, the illumination angle changing means moves the light source or the lens to change the distance between the lens and the light source based on the zoom lens magnification information and the focus focusing information acquired from the zoom position detecting means and the focus position detecting means. By doing so, the light emitted from the light source can be emitted at an irradiation angle suitable for red-eye reduction light, and the light emitted from the light source immediately before the flash emission is emitted more than the light emitted from the light source during autofocus. Since the irradiation angle changing means is controlled by the control means so that the angle becomes wider, the light emission from the light source immediately before the strobe light emission can irradiate a wider range than the light emitted from the light source during autofocus.

  Further, the auxiliary light unit is configured by manually operating the irradiation angle changing means for changing the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing the distance between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source. By changing the distance between the lens and the light source, the photographer can arbitrarily adjust the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject.

  Further, the auxiliary light unit is configured by manually operating the irradiation angle changing means for changing the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing the distance between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source. By changing the distance between the lens and the light source, the photographer can arbitrarily adjust the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject, and the light emitted from the light source immediately before the flash emission is Since the irradiation angle changing means is controlled by the control means so that the irradiation angle is wider than the light emitted from the light source during autofocus, the light emitted from the light source immediately before the strobe light emission is the light source during autofocus. A wider range than the light emitted from can be irradiated.

  According to the auxiliary light unit of the present invention, the irradiation angle changing means moves the lens or the light source to change the distance between the lens and the light source, thereby changing the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the light source.

  In FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment of the present invention, a photographing lens 5, a finder window 7, a strobe light emitting unit 8, an auxiliary light emitting window 10, a dimming sensor 11, a dimming sensor 11, a measurement lens are provided on the front surface of a digital camera 2 as a photographing apparatus. A distance sensor 12 is provided, and a shutter button 15 and a power switch 16 are disposed on the upper surface of the camera. A card slot 19 for mounting a memory card 18 is provided on the side of the camera on the left hand side. The card slot 19 is closed by a dustproof lid 20 so as to be freely opened and closed. Note that the strobe light emitting unit 8 of the present embodiment uses a xenon tube as a widely used strobe discharge tube.

  An auxiliary light unit 21 is provided behind the auxiliary light emitting window 10. The auxiliary light unit 21 includes a lens 22 (see FIG. 3) having convex surfaces on both sides, and an LED 23 (see FIG. 3) that is a light source that emits auxiliary light (AF auxiliary light) when performing contrast detection AF. ), A printed circuit board 24 (see FIG. 3) attached integrally with the LED 23, and a drive unit 26 (see FIG. 3) including a drive motor 25 (see FIG. 3). The light emitted from the LED 23 is emitted outside the auxiliary light unit 21 through the lens 22.

  The drive unit 26 drives the drive motor 25 to move the LED 23 together with the printed circuit board 24 in the optical axis direction of the lens 22 to change the distance between the LED 23 and the lens 22.

  When the distance between the LED 23 and the lens 22 changes, the irradiation angle of the AF auxiliary light is changed as shown in FIG. As the LED 23 approaches the lens 22, the irradiation angle of the AF auxiliary light becomes wider and the irradiation range becomes wider. Further, when the LED 23 is moved away from the lens 22, the irradiation angle of the AF auxiliary light becomes narrow, and the irradiation range becomes narrow.

  A zoom lens is applied to the photographing lens 5, and a CCD image sensor (hereinafter referred to as CCD) 27 (see FIG. 4) is disposed behind the photographing lens 5. The shutter button 15 is configured in a two-stage manner, and AF and automatic exposure control (AE) are activated in a “half-pressed” state in which the shutter button 15 is lightly pressed and stopped to lock AF and AE. Shooting is performed in the state of “full press”.

  The light control sensor 11 receives the strobe light reflected from the subject, converts it into a photoelectric signal, and sends the photoelectric signal to the light control circuit. The dimming circuit integrates the amount of strobe light based on the received photoelectric signal, and stops the light emission of the strobe light when the amount of received light reaches a predetermined value.

  The distance measuring sensor 12 includes a light projecting lens and a light receiving lens for distance measurement. Near-infrared light is projected from the projection lens toward the subject. When the reflected light enters the light receiving lens, a PSD (Position Sensing Device) provided in the back receives the light, and a photoelectric signal corresponding to the light receiving position is obtained. Since this photoelectric signal is a value corresponding to the distance to the subject, it is used as a distance signal to the subject and is output to the CPU 28 (see FIG. 4) described later.

  The power switch 16 is also used as a mode switch, and is an “OFF position” where the power is turned off, a “shooting ON position” where the power is turned on in the still image shooting mode, and a “playback ON position” where the power is turned on in the playback mode. 3 positions can be switched.

  In FIG. 2 showing the appearance of the back side of the digital camera 2, on the back side of the digital camera 2, there are a finder 29, a liquid crystal monitor 30, a zoom switch 32, a multi-function cross button 34, an AE lock button 36, a menu key 38, and execution. A key 40 and a cancel key 42 are provided. The liquid crystal monitor 30 is a display unit that can be used as an electronic viewfinder for checking the angle of view at the time of shooting, and can display a preview image of the shot image, a reproduced image read from the memory card 18, and the like. Further, menu selection using the cross button 34 and setting of various items in each menu are also performed using the display screen of the liquid crystal monitor 30.

  The zoom switch 32 is composed of a lever switch that can be operated in the up / down direction. By operating the lever switch in the upward direction, zooming is performed in the telephoto (TELE) direction, and by operating in the downward direction, zooming is performed in the wide angle (WIDE) direction. I do. The cross button 34 can input instructions in the corresponding four directions (up, down, left, right) by pressing one of the top, bottom, left, and right edges. It is used as an operation button for instructing selection and change of setting contents, and as a means for instructing electronic zoom magnification adjustment and playback frame return / return.

  The menu key 38 is used when transitioning from the normal screen to the menu screen in each mode. The execution key 40 is used for confirming the selection contents and instructing execution (confirmation) of processing. The cancel key 42 is used when canceling (cancelling) an item selected from the menu or returning to the previous operation state.

  The photographer operates the zoom switch 32 to determine the angle of view while confirming the real-time image (through image) displayed on the finder 29 or the liquid crystal monitor 30, and performs shooting by depressing the shutter button 15.

  In FIG. 4 showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 2, the photographing lens 5 is composed of a four-group inner focus zoom lens including a fixed lens 44, a variable power lens 46 a, a correction lens 46 b, and a focus lens 48.

  The variable magnification lens 46a and the correction lens 46b move along the optical axis while the positional relationship between them is regulated by a cam mechanism (not shown) to change the focal length. For convenience of explanation, the variable power optical system including the variable power lens 46a and the correction lens 46b is referred to as a “zoom lens 46”.

  The light that has passed through the photographing lens 5 is incident on the CCD 27 after the amount of light is adjusted by the diaphragm 50. In the CCD 27, micro red color filters of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are arranged in a matrix on the photocathode, and MOS diodes (also referred to as MOS capacitors) are respectively arranged behind them. Has been.

  The signal charge accumulated in each MOS diode is sequentially read out as a voltage signal (image signal) having luminance information of each RGB color corresponding to the signal charge based on a pulse given from the CCD driver 54. The CCD 27 has a so-called electronic shutter function that controls the charge accumulation time (shutter speed) of each MOS diode by the timing of the shutter gate pulse.

  The image signal output from the CCD 27 is sent to the analog processing unit 56. The analog processing unit 56 includes signal processing circuits such as a sampling hold circuit, a color separation circuit, and a gain adjustment circuit. The analog processing unit 56 performs correlated double sampling (CDS) processing and R, G, B color signals. Color separation processing is performed, and signal level adjustment (pre-white balance processing) of each color signal is performed.

  The signal output from the analog processing unit 56 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 58 and then stored in the memory 60. The timing generator (TG) 62 gives timing signals to the CCD driver 54, the analog processing unit 56, and the A / D converter 58 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 28, and the circuits are synchronized by this timing signal. .

  The data stored in the memory 60 is sent to the signal processing unit 68 via the bus 66. The signal processing unit 68 is an image processing unit composed of a digital signal processor (DSP) including a luminance / color difference signal generation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, a sharpness correction circuit, a contrast correction circuit, a white balance correction circuit, and the like. The image signal is processed according to the command.

  The image data input to the signal processing unit 68 is converted into a luminance signal and a color difference signal, and subjected to predetermined processing such as gamma correction, and then stored in the memory 60. When the captured image is displayed and output, the image data is read from the memory 60 and transferred to the display memory 70. The data stored in the display memory 70 is converted into a predetermined display signal (for example, an NTSC color composite video signal), and then the liquid crystal monitor (LCD) 30 via the D / A converter 72. Is output. Thus, the image content of the image data is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal monitor 30.

  The image data in the memory 60 is periodically rewritten by the image signal output from the CCD 27, and the video signal generated from the image data is supplied to the liquid crystal monitor 30, so that the image input through the CCD 27 is real-time. Is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 30. The photographer can check the angle of view by using the image (through image) displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 30 or the optical viewfinder 29.

  When the photographer operates the zoom switch 32, the instruction signal is input to the CPU 28, and the CPU 28 controls the zoom drive unit 74 based on the signal from the zoom switch 32 to move the zoom lens 46 in the tele (TELE) direction or wide ( Move in the (WIDE) direction. The zoom driving unit 74 includes a motor (not shown), and the zoom lens 46 is driven by the driving force of this motor. The position (zoom position) of the zoom lens 46 is detected by the zoom position sensor 76, and this detection signal is input to the CPU 28 as zooming information of the zoom lens 46.

  Similarly, the focus driving unit 78 includes a motor (not shown), and the focus lens 48 moves back and forth along the optical axis by the driving force of the motor. The position (focus position) of the focus lens 48 is detected by a focus position sensor 80, and a detection signal of the sensor 80 is input to the CPU 28 as focusing information of the focus lens 48.

  When the still image shooting mode is set by the power switch 16 and the shutter button 15 is pressed halfway, the imaging preparation process is started, and a photoelectric signal corresponding to the distance from the distance measuring sensor 12 to the subject is input to the CPU 28. The The CPU 28 determines whether or not the LED 23 for AF auxiliary light is caused to emit light, and sends a command based on the photoelectric signal from the distance measuring sensor 12 to the drive motor 25 as necessary to move the LED 23 and perform LED control. A command is sent to the circuit 81 to control the light emission of the AF auxiliary light LED 23. Further, the CPU 28 controls the focus driving unit 78 based on the result of evaluation value calculation described later to move the focus lens 48 to the in-focus position, and controls the aperture diameter of the diaphragm 50 and the electronic shutter of the CCD 27 to control exposure. I do.

  When the shutter button 15 is fully pressed, the CPU 28 executes recording imaging. The CPU 28 sends a command to the strobe device 82 as necessary to emit strobe light from the strobe light emitting unit 8.

  In this way, in response to the full pressing operation of the shutter button 15, the capturing of the recording image data is started. When the mode for compressing and recording image data is selected, the CPU 28 sends a command to the compression / decompression circuit 84. The compression / decompression circuit 84 compresses the image data taken into the memory 60 in accordance with JPEG or another predetermined format.

  The compressed image data is recorded on the memory card 18 via the card interface 86. When the mode for recording non-compressed image data (non-compression mode) is selected, the compression processing by the compression / decompression circuit 84 is omitted, and the image data is recorded on the memory card 18 without being compressed.

  When the playback mode is set by the power switch 16, the image file is read from the memory card 18. The read image data is decompressed by the compression / decompression circuit 84 as necessary, and is output to the liquid crystal monitor 30 via the display memory 70.

  The CPU 28 is a control unit that performs overall control of each circuit of the camera system. The CPU 28 controls the operation of the corresponding circuit based on the input signal received from the operation unit 87 including the power switch 16, the shutter button 15, the zoom switch 32, etc., and controls the strobe and the display control on the liquid crystal monitor 30. AF control and automatic exposure (AE) control are performed.

  Here, the autofocus control will be described. When the subject has sufficient contrast, such as when shooting outdoors in fine weather, the AF assist light LED 23 does not emit light when the natural light can be used to adjust the focus.

  Also, in the evening or indoors, since the contrast of the subject decreases, it becomes difficult to focus with natural light. Therefore, when the luminance value of the subject falls below a predetermined value, the CPU 28 needs to emit the LED 23 for AF auxiliary light. Judge. At this time, the CPU 28 sends a command based on the photoelectric signal input from the distance measuring sensor 12 to the drive unit 26, drives the drive motor 25 to move the LED 23, and sets the light emitted from the LED 23 to the distance to the subject. Change the irradiation angle accordingly. Further, the CPU 28 sends a command to the LED control circuit 81 during the AF operation, and causes the AF light to be emitted from the LED 23.

  The LED control circuit 81 is provided with a voltage up-converter that boosts the voltage of the power supply battery, a capacitor that is charged with the boosted voltage, and the like. As time passes, the LED 23 emits light. As the LED 23, a high luminance type is used.

  The image signal converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 58 is input to the evaluation value calculation unit 88. The evaluation value calculation unit 88 includes a high frequency component extraction circuit 22 and an integration circuit 92, samples an input image signal, extracts a high frequency component in an AF detection target area (hereinafter referred to as a focus area), and The absolute value is taken, and a value obtained by integrating the absolute value data in the focus area (hereinafter referred to as an evaluation value) is provided to the CPU 28.

  During the AF operation, the CPU 28 detects the contrast of the central portion of the image at a plurality of AF detection points (search points) while moving the focus lens 48 in the focus adjustment area from the near to infinity (or from infinity to the near) direction. The evaluation value is calculated for each search point. Then, by combining the evaluation values calculated at each point, the lens position where the evaluation value is maximum is determined as the in-focus position, and the focus driving unit 78 is moved so as to move the focus lens 48 to the obtained in-focus position. Control.

  Next, a case where a still image is shot with the digital camera configured as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In order to use the digital camera 2 configured as described above, first, the power switch 16 is operated to turn on the power of the digital camera 2 and set the still image shooting mode. When the power is turned on, charging of the capacitor built in the LED control circuit 81 is started. When the shutter button 15 is pressed halfway, a photoelectric signal corresponding to the distance from the distance measuring sensor 12 to the subject is input to the CPU 28. Further, when the subject brightness (shooting EV value) becomes a predetermined value or less, the CPU 28 determines that the AF auxiliary light needs to be emitted, and sends a command based on the photoelectric signal to the drive unit 26 to drive the drive motor 25. Then, the LED 23 is moved. Thereafter, a command is sent to the LED control circuit 81 to cause the AF auxiliary light to be emitted from the LED 23.

  Thereafter, the CPU 28 determines the aperture value and shutter speed at the time of shooting, and based on this, performs AE control for controlling the aperture 50 and the electronic shutter, and AF control for moving the focus lens 48 to the in-focus position.

  In the AF control, an image signal for obtaining an evaluation value is taken from the focus area of the CCD 27, and then the focus motor is driven to move the focus lens 48 by a predetermined amount. When the focus lens 48 moves to the next search point, AF auxiliary light is emitted as necessary, and an image signal is captured from the CCD 27. While moving the focus lens 48 from close to infinity (or close to infinity) in the focus adjustment area, AF auxiliary light is emitted as necessary for each search point, and an image signal is captured from the CCD 27. Since the irradiation angle of the AF auxiliary light is changed according to the subject distance, an image signal effective for evaluation can be obtained. When the evaluation value based on the image signal at each search point is calculated, the calculated evaluation values are combined to calculate the lens position where the evaluation value is maximum as the in-focus position, and the calculated in-focus position is obtained. The focus lens 48 is moved to end the AF operation.

  Thereafter, when the shutter button 15 is fully pressed, shooting is performed, and flash light is emitted from the flash light emitting unit 8 as necessary. When the light control sensor 11 detects the reflected light from the subject and reaches a predetermined light amount, the strobe device 82 stops emitting the strobe light. The image signal output from the CCD 27 passes through the analog signal processing unit 56 and the A / D converter 58, is taken into the memory 60 as image data, and is compressed into a predetermined format by the compression / decompression circuit 84. To the memory card 18.

  In the above embodiment, the change in the irradiation angle of the AF auxiliary light has been described. In the second embodiment, the change in the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light emitted immediately before the emission of the strobe light will be described. The light emitted from the LED 23 is used as red-eye reducing light that instantaneously emits light just before the strobe light is emitted to reduce the red-eye phenomenon. When a command is input from the CPU 28, the drive unit 26 drives the drive motor 25 to move the LED 23 together with the printed circuit board 24, thereby changing the distance between the LED 23 and the lens 22. The command is a drive motor so that the light emitted from the LED 23 is optimally distributed for red-eye reduction light based on the focus position and the zoom position detected by the focus position sensor 80 and the zoom position sensor 76 after the end of AF. This is a control signal for controlling the signal and is determined by experiment or simulation.

  When the distance between the LED 23 and the lens 22 changes, the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light is changed so as to irradiate all regions within the shooting angle of view. As the LED 23 approaches the lens 22, the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light becomes wider and the irradiation range becomes wider. Further, when the LED 23 is moved away from the lens 22, the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light becomes narrow, and the irradiation range becomes narrow.

  Next, the effect | action of the said embodiment is demonstrated using the flowchart shown in FIG. In order to use the digital camera 2, first, the power switch 16 is operated to turn on the power of the digital camera 2 and set the still image shooting mode. When the power is turned on, charging of the capacitor built in the LED control circuit 81 is started. When the shutter button 15 is half-pressed and the AE and AF operations are completed, flash light emission preparation is performed as necessary. When strobe light emission preparation is performed, it is determined whether or not the LED 23 emits light for red-eye reduction light immediately before the strobe light emission. When the LED 23 emits light, the CPU 28 sends a command based on the detection signals input from the zoom position sensor 76 and the focus position sensor 80 to drive the drive motor 25 to drive the drive motor 25, and the red-eye reduction light from the LED 23 is captured on the shooting screen. LED23 is moved so that it may have the irradiation angle which irradiates all the area | regions. Thereafter, when the shutter button 15 is fully pressed, strobe light is emitted immediately after the red-eye reduction light is emitted from the LED 23, and the image signal output from the CCD 27 is recorded in the memory card 22 through a predetermined flow. When the flash light is not emitted, the image signal output from the CCD 27 is recorded on the memory card 22 through a predetermined flow after the shutter button 15 is fully pressed.

  In the above embodiment, the drive motor is driven by a command input from the CPU, but may be driven manually. In FIG. 7 showing a digital camera 97 which is a photographing apparatus showing a third embodiment of the present invention, a drive unit operation dial 98 is provided on the upper surface of the camera. When the drive unit operation dial 98 is rotated, a drive motor 99 described later is driven. Further, the drive unit operation dial 98 is provided with a scale that serves as a guide for operation during the rotation operation. In the present embodiment, the same members as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 8 showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 97, an auxiliary light unit 103 is provided behind the auxiliary light emitting window 10. The auxiliary light unit 103 includes a lens 104 having convex surfaces on both sides, an LED 105 (see FIG. 9) that is a light source that emits light for AF auxiliary light and red-eye reduction light, and a printed circuit board (see FIG. (Not shown) and a drive unit 100 including a drive motor 99 are provided. Note that light emitted from the LED 105 is transmitted through the lens 104 and then irradiated onto the subject.

  The drive motor 99 is driven when the operation dial 98 is rotated and when a command from the CPU 28 is input to the drive unit 100. When the drive motor 99 is driven, the LED 105 is moved, and the distance between the lens 104 and the LED 105 changes. Thereby, the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the LED 105 irradiated toward the subject is changed.

  As the LED 105 approaches the lens 104, the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the LED 105 becomes wider and the irradiation range becomes wider. Further, when the LED 105 moves away from the lens 104, the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the LED 105 becomes narrow, and the irradiation range becomes narrow.

  The CPU 28 sends a command to move the LED 105 in the direction approaching the lens 104 when the red-eye reduction light is emitted to the drive unit 100 to control the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light to be wider than the AF auxiliary light.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In order to use the digital camera 97, first, the power switch 16 is operated to turn on the power of the digital camera 97 and set the still image shooting mode. When the power is turned on, charging of the capacitor built in the LED control circuit 81 is started, and the LED 105 emits light when the subject brightness is below a predetermined value. When the subject brightness is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the photographer estimates the distance to the subject and rotates the drive unit operation dial 98 to adjust the scale of the drive unit operation dial 98 to a position corresponding to the distance to the subject. The irradiation angle of the light emitted from the LED 105 is adjusted. When the shutter button 15 is half-pressed, the CPU 28 determines an aperture value and shutter speed at the time of shooting, and based on this, AE control for controlling the aperture 50 and the electronic shutter, and AF control for moving the focus lens 48 to the in-focus position. In addition, it is determined whether or not to emit strobe light when the shutter button 15 is fully pressed, and when the strobe light is emitted, a command for driving the drive motor 99 is input to the drive unit 100. . The drive motor 99 moves the LED 105 in a direction approaching the lens 104 to make the irradiation angle of the red-eye reduction light wider than the AF auxiliary light.

  Thereafter, when the shutter button 15 is fully pressed, shooting is performed, and flash light is emitted from the LED 105 and the strobe light emission unit 8 as necessary. When the light control sensor 11 detects the reflected light from the subject and reaches a predetermined light amount, the strobe device 82 stops emitting the strobe light. The image signal output from the CCD 27 passes through the analog signal processing unit 56 and the A / D converter 58, is taken into the memory 60 as image data, and is compressed into a predetermined format by the compression / decompression circuit 84. To the memory card 18.

  In the above embodiment, the drive unit operation dial 98 is operated only before the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 15. However, the driving unit operation dial 98 is operated again after the shutter button 15 is half-pressed, and the red-eye reducing light emitted from the LED 105 is operated. The irradiation angle may be changed.

  Although it has been described in the third embodiment that the red-eye reduction light is controlled to have a wider irradiation angle than the AF auxiliary light, it may be applied to the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the light source is moved to change the irradiation angle of the light emitted from the light source, but the lens may be moved. The photographing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a digital camera, and may be a silver salt camera, a camera-equipped mobile phone, or the like. In the above-described embodiment, one light source is used for AF auxiliary light or red-eye reduction light. However, a plurality of light sources may be used. Moreover, as a light source, organic electroluminescence, a plasma light emitting element, etc. other than said LED are applicable. In the above embodiment, a lens having convex surfaces on both sides is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a Fresnel lens or the like.

It is a front perspective view of the digital camera of the first and second embodiments of the present invention. 1 is a rear perspective view of a digital camera according to first and second embodiments of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the irradiation angle when the light emission of LED permeate | transmits the lens. It is a block diagram of the digital camera of the first and second embodiments of the present invention. It is a flowchart of a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the digital camera of 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the digital camera of 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2,97 Digital camera 8 Strobe light emission unit 10 Auxiliary light emission window 11 Distance sensor 15 Shutter button 21, 103 Auxiliary light unit 22, 104 Lens 23, 105 LED
25,99 Drive motor 26,100 Drive unit

Claims (9)

In an imaging device including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before flash emission,
Ranging means for measuring the distance to the subject;
An irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source based on distance measurement information from the distance measuring means; ,
An imaging apparatus comprising: In an imaging device equipped with an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and immediately before flash emission,
Ranging means for measuring the distance to the subject;
An irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source based on distance measurement information from the distance measuring means; ,
Immediately before the strobe emission, control means for controlling the irradiation angle changing means so that the light irradiation angle is wider than at the time of autofocus,
An imaging apparatus comprising: In a photographing apparatus including a zoom lens for photographing, a focusing lens for photographing, and an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before flash emission,
Zoom position detecting means for acquiring zooming information of the zoom lens;
Focus position detection means for acquiring focus information of the focus lens;
Irradiation that changes the irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing the distance between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source based on zooming information of the zoom lens and focusing information of the focus lens An angle changing means;
An imaging apparatus comprising: In a photographing apparatus comprising a zoom lens for photographing, a focusing lens for photographing, and an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and immediately before strobe light emission,
Zoom position detecting means for acquiring zooming information of the zoom lens;
Focus position detection means for acquiring focus information of the focus lens;
Irradiation that changes the irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing the distance between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source based on zooming information of the zoom lens and focusing information of the focus lens An angle changing means;
Immediately before the strobe emission, control means for controlling the irradiation angle changing means so that the light irradiation angle is wider than at the time of autofocus,
An imaging apparatus comprising: In an imaging device including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before flash emission,
An irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source;
Operating means manually operated to operate the irradiation angle changing means;
An imaging apparatus comprising: In an imaging device including an auxiliary light unit that irradiates a subject with light emitted from a light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before flash emission,
An irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted from the auxiliary light unit toward the subject by changing an interval between the lens of the auxiliary light unit and the light source;
Operating means manually operated to operate the irradiation angle changing means;
Immediately before the strobe emission, control means for controlling the irradiation angle changing means so that the light irradiation angle is wider than at the time of autofocus,
An imaging apparatus comprising:   7. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation angle changing unit moves either the lens or the light source in the lens optical axis direction. In the auxiliary light unit that irradiates the subject with light emitted from the light source at the time of autofocusing and / or immediately before the flash emission,
An auxiliary light unit comprising an irradiation angle changing means for changing an irradiation angle of light emitted toward a subject by changing an interval between a lens and a light source. 9. The auxiliary light unit according to claim 8, wherein the irradiation angle changing unit moves either the lens or the light source in the lens optical axis direction.

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